Production of iron and steel by treating directly gangue-freed ores



( CONSTANT ET AL PRODUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL BY TREATING DIRECTLY GANGUE FREED ORES Fil'd ADIil 11, 1922 iihi INTVENTORS ecu/yea Com-Z4712 rams- D 2, 1924.

, To all whom a my (mm.-

their gangue,

Freed Ores, .set forth in the following mi sTIfraTEs; PATENT 011 105.-

enonens cons'rsm AND mnananuzac, or rams, FRANCE.

:enonucrronor 1m: AND swam. in: 'rana'rme mnncrnv Geneva-ream) oars -Appllcattoniiled April 11,1922. Serial no. 551,554.

. Be it known thatwe, Gnomes CONSTANT, a' citizen of the Republicof France, and resident of Paris, France (post-office address 1 Rue Drouot), and Ammi'BsUzAo, a citizen of the Republic of France, and a resident of Paris, France (post-oflice address 1 Rue Drouot), have invented new and useful Improvements in the Produc ion of Iron and Steel ,by Treating Directly Ganguewhich improvements are, fully specification. The object of our invention is to provide a method or processfor making iron or steel, consisting in treating the oresfreed from all in such a manner as to prevent the formation of any slags which would make it impossible to use the melting or smelting furnace.

The-process which is the object of our invention is characterized by the following operations:

A. Ore crushing. B. Washing of the crushed ore in order to remove all or part of the gangue. In certain cases this removal of the gangue may 0. Dr ing, of' the ore freed from its gangue y any process (ventilation or mechanical stirring may even be used).

D. Reduction of the ore in a closed vessel by any reducing or deoxidizing l gas (poor gas, water gas, etc.) or any ot er suitable reducer; this reduction is effected very promptly due to thefine molecular state of the ore.

E. The ore having been reduced, direct passage of'the metal from the reservoir -or to the reducing apparatus, without be efiected magnetically.

tank any contact, or with as short a contact as ossible, with air in a Martin, Siemens or other smelting furnace. a Before charging, a non-'oxydizing) atmosphere may be created in the furnace y keeping the said furnace only partly lighted or by any other means. 1

F. smelting of the metal by ordinary processes, with the addition of a small quantity of corrective (lime or other substance,

according to requirements).

The melted metal. will be, according to the reducerused, e ther. iron orfisteel and, by'means of the well will be easy to obtain such steel as desired.

Similarly, cast-iron may be obtained.

known additions, it

I takes place a corrective 'agent willhave to be used. a 4

Also after crushing, the ore may be reduced and then'freed from its gangue either, 00

as indicated in paragraph B above, or by any other means .such. oxydizing as may. result from this method of operation should be corrected in the melting furnace.

In order to make the invention more clearly understood we have appended hereto a drawing, he single figure of which represents dlagrammatically a practical embodiment of the invention. Y

In carrying out the process, at the mine should reach the crushi practically free rem gangue'.

It can be d by means g mill I ried of the waste heat of the mill and then passed. on to the reduction chamber where the first operation will be to make it lose, if necessary, the remainder of its moisture and t e small quantity of carbonic acid it ma yet contain.

Thi result will'be obtains by drawing the residuary gases left in the smelting furnace (reverberatory furnace), from the latter through valve D and thence through the mass of ore in the reducing chamber.

The reducinlg chamber A must be hermetically closed at the top by a flap cover or any other cover forioin a joint. I H The bottom closure will %)6 a device? suchas the one usual with a blast furnace throat but any other sort of closure may be used suchas a movable slide worked from'outside, or a sort of jack having a snitahle hearing point and supporting av conical plug or obturator, such jack being worked from out side by means'of, say, a worm. J

The, casing of the reducing chamber and E5 the throat B extending below perfectly tight. 1

During reduction, the bottom of the throatshould be closed by a solid plug which'will be replaced by a movable sleeve M at the time when the reduction chamber is emptied and before removal of the cone which serves as its bottom closure.

Such sleeve must be luted at both ends in order to make a joint with the throat and with the reverberatory furnace; it will rest on a metal part or member N cooled by an internal water jacket.

Tightness of the reducing chamber at the top and also of its cast-ing, as well as of the throat, being achieved, it will be easy to Whenever any slight oxydizing of the, metal cause the gaseousgeducing agent to expand the ore washed should be 7 J a are remain in throat D before with refractory the mass of ore.

The reducing gas is drawn through the inlet pipe and itsvalve 0 from a suitable source of supply, due to the. suction action [of a pump or fan J, into the reduction chamber A, and is discharged from the latter through a pipe E into "a dust box F. From this box, it passes through a cooler G, where its temperature is lowered, and thence throu h a meter I into the fan casing; a valve being interposed between the cooler and the meter.

A pipe L, connected to the fan or pump J, is utllized to evacuate such gases as mlght unplugging the same to position sleeve M.

It will be easy'to make sure, by means of themeter of each reduction chamber, that, the quantity of gas necessary to reduce the contained ore has passed through the chamber, and the fact should be ascertained periodically, by using an automatic recording analyser K or by'any other means, that the carbonic oxid of the reducer gas has been transformed into carbonic acid.

A pyrometer, indicating the, temperature at which the reduction is made and the time consumed in the operation will give the carburetion degree of the iron.

If it is iron that is to be made, ver slightly carbureted steel is made and tiien this steel is decarburized by the corresponding quantity of Fe O It is therefore steel that-issent from the reducing chamber into the smelting furnace.

The number and size of the reducing chambers depend upon the reduction time and tonnageof the smelting furnace.

The work of such chambersis arranged in successive stages so as not to cause any loss of time at the smelting furnace.

They can be made of cast iron or of steel and should be faced both inside and outside material suitably supported and reinforced.

gas and of the ore, conducive Downwardly inclined holes will be ar ranged for the inlet of the reducing gas into the ower part.

The metallic aforesaid; it should be lined on the inside with refractory material and the reducer gas should be permitted to circulate between this lining and the conical lower portion of the reducing chamber, so as to have access to all the inclined inlet holes just mentioned.

Rigidly structure, they will overhang the smelting furnace into which they on the side opposite the tap hole.

We claim as our invention: I

*1. A process of making iron or steel, comprising the steps of subjecting the anguefreed ore, in an air-tight reduction 0 amber, to the action of carbonic oxid which is bein constantly renewed, bringing the ore an carbonic oxid to a predetermined temperacasing must be tight, as

will easily empty i mounted on a suitable metallic ture. which is below the point where the ore becomes pasty and maintaining such temis a function of the temperature, obtain complete reduction and carburetion of the metal, and its consequent conversion into steel in said chamber; substantially as described.

2. A process of making prising the freed ber, to the action of carbonic oxid which is being constantly renewed, bringing the ore and carbonic oxid to a predetermined temiron or steel, comsteps of subjecting the gangueperature which is below the point where the ore becomes pasty and maintaining such temperature for a definite period of time to obtain completely reduced and carbureted metal in the reduction chamber in the form vperature for a definite period of time which. 1

thereby to 'ore,'1n an air-tight reduction cham-- of pieces of steel sponge, and then immediately smelting saidpieces )3 separate out any impurities which may still remain; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have si ned this scribing Specification in the presence of a su witness.

GEORGES CONSTANT. AN DRE BRUZAC. Witness:

CHAnLns LE6N Loren.

to, fuse them and 

